Chuck vs the Fourth of July Tussle
by East Coast Captain
Summary: Chuck is kidnapped by Shaw during a vacation but along the way learns something extraordinary about one of his children. One shot


_**Disclaimer:**_ _I do not own Chuck or any of its property but I do own the OCs!_

 _ **Author's Note**_ _: It's finally done. Hope everyone enjoys it. My veteran beta, PJ Murphy, is in the cockpit this time, hope he's had a Happy Holiday. Happy Fourth of July, everyone! May good things happen to you all!_

* * *

 _Pine Barrens, New Jersey  
June 25, 2044  
7:34 pm EDT_

Daniel Shaw gave a sadistic smirk as he looked at Chuck Bartowski. He finally had him right where he wanted him. The former CIA agent turned traitor had been sent to prison because of Bartowski and his wife. He escaped for a short time, only to be recaptured…by them, as fate would have it…until he was finally paroled a few months back. But to say Shaw had been rehabilitated would be as wrong of a statement as possible.

"Wake up, Chuck," Shaw teased with generous helpings of contempt. "It's just about time to meet your maker, and I wouldn't want you to miss it."

Chuck slowly stirred, his mind in a total haze. He had deep cuts on his arms and blood coming out of his nose.

"I've grown tired of inflicting pain on you," Shaw said.

"Clearly not," Chuck slurred. "You're still talking."

"I wanted you to know something before I get rid of you. Your pride and joy, William, is a spy."

"Huh. Didn't know you had a sense of humor. A sick sense of humor, now that I would believe."

Chuck didn't know where Shaw was going with this. Sarah and he had taken a vacation to see their children in New York City not long ago. What he did not know was Shaw had planned on kidnapping Sarah. However, spy training never leaves a spy, even decades later. She took out two of his men. Ever since then, Shaw chose to up the ante on how much he'd make Chuck and his family suffer.

"The apple doesn't fall far from the spy tree. Especially William. He's like a rash that you can't rid of. He may have been dead to you, but that plane crash was a smokescreen. MI-6 discovered a few leftover Ring agents tried to form a new organization and found the program used to turn Hartley Winterbottom into Alexei Volkoff. You know, the guy who gave you all that money you wasted on your pitiful spy company?

"They had someone on their payroll, a Doctor Wilkes. She experimented on your precious son." Shaw shook his head a gave a chuckle. "Woman scared the crap out of everybody, even me. The things she did to your son? She made what they did to Bucky Barnes in _The Winter Soldier_ look like an Atlantic City hypnotism act."

"I'd tell you to go to hell, but I think you're already there," Chuck snorted and spat crimson blood on the floor.

"Believe it, Chuck. Your son may be alive, but he's no longer your son. And when I'm done with you I intend to kill Sarah. Maybe even your precious Diana. I'll be sure to have some fun with her before I'm done."

"My daughter is not as nice as I am," Chuck growled, although he was barely hanging on to his life. "She takes after her mother. She'll tear your balls off and shove them down your throat."

Shaw shook his head with a cackle and pulled out a very sharp knife. "I wish I could see the look on Sarah's face when she finds you here."

A pair of Shaw's henchmen came running into the room, both with panicked looks on their faces. Daniel whipped around staring daggers at them.

"We have a situation out there," the one agent said in a rush. "The guys in the north exit are not picking up. They talked about seeing something in the swamp and went to check it out but haven't reported back."

"Fuck," Shaw growled.

"Problem, Daniel?" Chuck asked with a slight grin. That slight grin got wider as one of the henchmen sent a spinning kick into the other one, knocking them out completely.

"Uncle Casey was right. You aren't that smart."

Shaw growled and turned towards the voice. His lackey then held a remote in his hand and pushed a button. The holographic image faded away to reveal a man wearing an owl-emblazoned helmet and facemask.

Shaw's eyes went wide with rage and with terror. He ran behind Chuck and held a knife to his throat as the figure stepped forward. "I'll kill him, William!"

The man stopped and looked at Chuck, who stared back at him. He gave a shrug and Chuck gave a nod.

Chuck reached down and pulled up on a lever attached to the bed. The head of the bed fell hard and knocked Shaw back. William whipped out a futuristic-looking weapon.

"You son of a bitch!" Shaw tried to charge at William, only to be lit up like the Fourth of July with the weapon in William's hand. Shaw fell to the ground.

"And that's why you're on the naughty list for life, Daniel," William said.

Chuck stared in utter shock, which went off the charts as William pushed a button on a wrist device, disassembling the helmet. It slid into a compartment behind his back. William unstrapped Chuck from the bed and helped him down. Chuck held onto him as he gazed in complete astonishment at the suit William was wearing. Despite being a tech genius, even he had never seen material before that resembled what was in front of him now.

He then looked up at William. And he saw that smile. William may have gotten most of his looks from his father, but that smile was all Sarah's. And like hers, it always lit up the room. But the shock wouldn't go away. He thought William was a mild-mannered Horticulturist. Which apparently never happened. The questions Chuck had for his son were endless.

"We have a lot to talk about, young man," Chuck said in a mock scolding.

The room was suddenly filled with the sounds of helicopters. Chuck rushed outside to see his elder son, Stephen, rappelling down from one of the helicopters adorned in FBI tactical gear. He immediately ran to his father and hugged him tightly as other agents charged in to capture Shaw and his cronies.

"Dad! So glad you're safe!" Stephen exclaimed. "How did you escape?"

Chuck turned and saw his youngest nowhere. His son…the mysterious Owl…had vanished into the night.

"Everything is fine, kiddo," Chuck said. "Thanks to that Owl guy."

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 _Hillyheim, Wisconsin  
July 4, 2044  
2:30 pm CDT_

Forest green eyes took in the scenery, the rolling hills, the farms that dotted the landscape of this town ninety minutes from Chicago by bullet train. Every time she visited, the view never failed to leave her in awe. She looked over to her companion, who had his usual mischievous smile on his face. The two of them walked up the path to the Bartowski house.

"We should have been here an hour ago," she told him.

"You know I like my ingredients fresh, darling. Just wait until you try my famous apple pie," William said with a grin, holding up a bag of ingredients.

His companion could only laugh at his eccentric ways. Autumn Victoria Bernal had known her beloved for a ten years, as the two of them had been in many perilous situations, from the depths of the ocean all the way to outer space.

"This is true. You could give Gordon Ramsay a run for his money," Autumn said. "And you curse WAY less."

"Ramsay? Ha! He has nothing on my baking slash culinary skills. You know your mother absolutely adores my Chicken Parmesan. And the first souffle I ever made? Nailed it!"

"I'm surprised my mother even likes you. She scared the crap out of my prior boyfriends. Not that your mother is Miss America, despite looking like one."

She looked at him for a moment. "How do you think your parents have handled it? You being, well, you?"

"They're upset, I imagine. No doubt they will demand I tell them everything. And that's exactly what I intend to do."

ºººººººººººººººººººººº

The sun was shining, and the temperature was a comfortable 78°F. A freshly-built wooden baby carriage sat on the front lawn. It was Stephen's creation; he always knew his way around a wood shop. Inside, however, the discussion between Chuck and Sarah was about another one of their children.

"I still can't believe it," Sarah said, still unable to process what had transpired. One of their children had become a spy. Not only that, it was their youngest son, whose gentle nature as a child put him on the receiving end of so much bullying from the other students…not to mention his older siblings.

"In a weird way, it makes some sense," Chuck replied gently. He felt the same sadness Sarah did, but there was an unmistakable feeling of pride in his son, too. "For eight years we thought he was dead. And it turns out he was doing exactly what we did back in the day: saving lives."

He walked into the bedroom where Sarah was. "Did you know there's even a blog about him? Some urban legend about a blue demon terrorizing scumbags. There was even a little boy in Seattle who said a blue angel had saved him and his mother. First surfaced during the war."

This did not placate Sarah's mood. Quite the opposite, in fact. "How did I not figure this out sooner? I was the top spy at the CIA! I was trained for this! I should have…" She began to shake. Chuck went over and wrapped his arms around his beloved Sarah.

"Hey, hey," he whispered gently as he held her. "We were spies for a few years. We've been parents a lot longer than that. We're allowed to be human. Especially you."

The door to the living room opened, and Chuck and Sarah went to see their youngest son and his significant other enter. William and Autumn stepped forward carefully, still unsure how the elder Bartowskis were dealing with the truth about their son. William put down his bag of ingredients and hung Autumn's and his windbreakers on a coat rack, still wearing his stereo earbuds. Chuck and Sarah could make out the Paula Cole song he was listening to.

"Hey Mr. and Mrs. B," Autumn grinned, giving each an awkward hug. Given her mother was someone Sarah had tangled with in the past when she had just met Chuck, confessing that she was the daughter of Malena Bernal, formerly known as La Ciudad, would probably not be the best course of action, especially given what William had to get off of his chest. She retreated to the kitchen with William's bag of ingredients.

He pulled the earbuds out, grinning like a child aware that he was about to get scolded but was going to try to gain sympathy points anyway. "Hey, Mom. Pops." He held up his earbuds, which were still playing _I Don't Want To Wait_. "Oldies but goodies collection."

They looked at him with that same disapproving look they gave him that time he made a stink bomb that accidentally went off in the school cafeteria when he was a junior in high school. William swallowed nervously.

"I know what you guys are going to say. Yes, I am the Owl, but there's a completely logical explanation..."

Chuck and Sarah grabbed their youngest son, leading him to the sun room.

"How long?" Sarah demanded to know. William immediately dropped his usual snarky disposition. He didn't want to do this, but his parents deserved to know everything.

"Officially, for a few years. But I've been doing this since almost after I vanished. I was trained by a group in the Himalayas. I learned a lot, especially from their leader. A really good man."

"And clearly you've met Daniel Shaw before?"

"Many years ago. Uncle Casey told me a few stories, what he tried to do to the two of you. Uncle Casey was right: the guy's a two-by-four. Actually, I take that back. Two-by-fours serve SOME purpose in life." His snarky countenance started to resurface, but the dour looks on his parents' faces made him stop immediately.

"Who is this Doctor Wilkes Shaw was talking about?" Chuck asked.

That sent a whole other vibe into William, and Chuck and Sarah could see it on his face. In fact, Sarah recognized it right away. It was the same look she always had back in her "Graham's wildcard enforcer" days. It wasn't a look she enjoyed seeing on her son.

"Wilkes was the proverbial mad scientist that worked for an offshoot of the Ring. She put two dozen of us through 'behavior modification', just like when they changed Hartley Winterbottom into Alexei Volkoff. "We saw these images, just like you did with you Intersect, and it worked. Worked too well, in fact. Only four of us survived."

William gritted his teeth at the thought. Chuck and Sarah's anger turned towards Wilkes. Wherever she was, she would pay for what she did to their son.

"I take it Autumn is part of your crew?" Sarah concluded.

William nodded. "She is a veritable Jane of all trades. She's equal parts genius, supermodel, and all parts badass. All the gadgets the Owl uses were her inventions. She's sort of like if Q from the Bond films and Uncle Casey had a child…but, you know, less scary. She is crazy talented; none of this would work without her."

None of this improved Sarah's mood. "This isn't you, Will. I know you've been through hell, but you're not responsible for saving the world. We worked very hard so none of you would have to go through what we did. You need to live your life."

"Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans. You and Dad and your friends fought back then to help those who needed it. That's what I do. OK, it started as a quest for revenge, but it's not anymore. It's about doing what's right. What I want is irrelevant."

"No, it isn't," Chuck sharply replied. "You can't do that to yourself. Doctor Wilkes may have done horrible, unspeakable things to you, but she can't take away the best part of you. You're our son. And I know for a fact how wonderful and amazing of a person he is. Nobody…I repeat, NOBODY…can take that away from you, no matter how hard they try."

Chuck grasped his youngest son's shoulder. "Sooner or later you will have to hang up your suit; we all did. Whether you like it or not. And that's when you'll realize you still need the people who love you and care about you."

William's eyes softened. He did wonder sometimes about how his life would have been if that plane crash had never happened. Maybe he would be married and had children by now.

He looked at the ground. Sarah knew that look as well. "Don't push people away, Will," she said in a voice less like an ice-cold spy and more like a loving mom. "We know we can't sit here and tell you not to do this, and we won't tell a soul about what you're doing. Just know you're more than the Owl. So much more."

William looked up, and that bashful look morphed into a wide grain. He pulled both of his parents into a loving embrace. They were right, after all. They knew him well. Sarah taught him to swim in that nearby lake when he was young, and Chuck taught him how to fix so many things.

"How about we go out to Gino's East tomorrow afternoon? I'll tell you everything. Besides, that's my rule. I visit Chicago, I have to have a couple of slices of deep-dish pizza."

Chuck and Sarah smiled as they embraced their son. They then heard the sounds of pots and pans falling to the floor in the kitchen.

"Looks like they need my assistance in there," William said as he let go of his parents and headed towards all the racket. Chuck sighed and picked up his wine glass, tipping it towards the painting he had of Stephen Hawking, one of the first of his 'heroes' he got to meet.

At a small table next to the large wooden kitchen table…built by Stephen, of course…Mary was playing cards with her grandfather, Jack Burton, who still had the energy of a fifteen-year-old despite being 70 years older than that. Molly Burton named her daughter after her aunt, the late Mary Bartowski. Molly and her cousin, Dr. Clara Woodcomb, absolutely loved how well the Burton patriarch bonded with the family, although Jack teaching little Mary the tricks of three-card monte was something they could have lived without. Molly's mother, Emma, was with Ellie and Devon picking up a few more items for the party.

"Mary, watch out for Grandpa," Will said with a grin as he laid out the ingredients for the _börek_ he was going to make, which was a filled pastry made of flaky dough the entire Bartowski/Burton/Woodcomb clans absolutely raved about. "He's lulling you into a sense of victory. Then he's going to pull that rug right out from under you."

"I think you missed your calling, Will," Clara said as she watched him cut up several ingredients. "Both you and Uncle Chuck would have been great surgeons with hands like those." And she would know; compared to her, Clara's parents were interns, as she was one of the top surgeons at the Schulman Medical Center.

"Yeah, that's just what he needs: more of a God complex," Stephen retorted, punctuating it with a Bronx cheer.

"Agreed," Autumn said in support. "Besides, you know how hard it is to find a guy who can cook as well as him? I'm not giving that up!"

"How about make yourself useful, Captain America?" scoffed Clara, handing him a stack of plates and silverware to put at the table.

"I always thought of you more like a Ken doll," Lara, Stephen's wife, quipped as she chopped vegetables. "Especially in certain areas." That sent a raucous laugh through the kitchen.

"Why is that so funny, Grandpa?" Mary asked in confusion. "What's wrong with Ken?"

"I'll tell you in a few years, sweetie," Jack replied cautiously.

"What's going on here?"

Everyone turned to hear the booming voice of John Casey as he stepped into the kitchen. Everyone ran to him and gave him a hug.

"Looking good, Cop Face," Jack said with a smile, also giving him a hug.

Casey growled quietly. Thirty-five years, and Jack STILL called him that. Although Jack handing him a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label and a cigar provided instant forgiveness.

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Eight hours later, the party was still going in most of the city. The Fourth of July was a bigger affair now than it ever had been, and many people would probably be out until the crack of dawn. William and Autumn lay in his room bedroom holding each other closely. They were content to enjoy the intimacy rather than whooping it up outside.

"Do you ever think about life after all this?" she asked, tracing her finger over a jagged scar on his chest, echoing what his parents told him.

"I do," he said, gently caressing her bare back. "A lot more than I used to. I'm not sure what I'd do, though. Finish the projects I keep procrastinating over? Maybe go into the wilderness for a few years while I try to find myself again?"

"I was thinking about Altamira."Altamira was a ranch in Chile where Autumn was raised during her formative years. She inherited it from her mother, and it had become a sanctuary of sorts for her.

"Ahh, your Fortress of Solitude."

He gave her a grin, which made her roll her eyes. "You can take the nerd out of the comic book store, but you can't take the comic book store out of the nerd," she droned in frustration, which made Will giggle. "Come on, I'm serious. The sun rising over the hills during a misty morning while we sit on the porch sipping _cafe con leche_. Closest thing to heaven on earth."

"I can't argue with that," he said with a smile as he held her in his arms. She playfully wiggled against him and slid his hands up to her breasts. "And now I really can't argue with that."

"I always give you a good reason to agree with me," she said mischievously. "Well, this time it's two good reasons."

He laughed heartily as he gave her a passionate kiss.

 _ **THE END**_

* * *

 _ **Cast**_

 **Zachary Levi -** William Bartowski/Chuck Bartowski

 **Brandon Routh** \- Daniel Shaw

 **Lela Loren** \- Autumn Bernal

 **Sasha Alexander** \- Molly Burton

 **Dominic Cooper -** FBI Agent Stephen Bartowski

 **Cote de Pablo** \- Lara Bartowski

 **Erica Durance -** Doctor Clara Woodcomb

 **Yvonne Strahovski -** Sarah Bartowski

 **Adam Baldwin** \- John Casey

 **HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!**


End file.
